For more than a year, President Donald Trump has suggested that China was footing the bill for the tariffs slapped on United States imports.

But following the White House’s delay of upcoming levies on some Chinese goods, footwear and apparel industry leaders are calling out the president, whose decision, they said, served as muted acknowledgement that trade war costs are ultimately paid by American businesses and consumers.

On Tuesday, the U.S. Trade Representative announced that it would postpone the 10% duty on some of the $300 billion worth of Chinese products, such as mobile phones, laptops and toys as well as unspecified items of footwear and apparel, based on “health, safety, national security and other factors.” The fourth tranche of tariffs has thus been split, with one set impacted with the additional duty on Sept. 1 and another on Dec. 15. Read More